Apparatus for dispensing and teeing golf balls



July 19, 1932. I c. c. SPENCER 1,868,251

' APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND TEEING GOLF BALLS Filed June 25. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 19, 1932. c. c. SPENCER v 1,363,251 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING AND TEEING GOLF BALLS Filed June 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 1 VENTOR BY M Patented July 19, 1932 UNITED STATES CLYDE CURTIS SPENCER, OF BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS APPARATUS FOR. DISPENSING nn TEEING GOLF BALLS Application filed .Tune 25,

This invention relates to apparatus for facilitating the practice of driving golf balls. Both the novices in this game and also the more experienced players like to practice driving, partly for exercise and more particularly to correct faults in this part of thelr game and to improve their distance. Such practice is continued indoors in suitable cages through the Winter. In the summer much more attention is given toit, and for thls purpose special driving fields often are established and in recent years have become quite common.

The present invention is especially concerned with the requirements of apparatus for facilitating practice of this kind. It alms to devise an organization for conveniently presenting the balls in position for driving, for dispensing a given number of balls to a customer, and for reducing the labor involved in caring for and operating a practice cage, driving field, or the like.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description v when read in connection with the accompany- 7 ing drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out, in the. appended claims.

In the drawings,

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a part of the apparatus showing certain details of con- 7 struction on alarger scale;

7 Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the part of the apparatus at and adjacent to the tee;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional and side views, respectively, of the hopper;

Fig. 6 1s a plan view, partly in section,

showlng the coin controlled mechanism for releasing the balls from the hopper; I

Fig. 7 is a sectional view approximately on the line 77, Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a front view of the coin controlled mechanism above mentioned; and

Fig. 9 is a partial sectional view on the line 99, Fig. 7. I Briefly stated, the apparatus shown com- A short length offlexible tubing 15, Fig. l-,-.;

- 3, whichextends into a slot 16, Fig. 2, formed in the upper part of the chute. This gate is secured rigidly on a shaft 17 mounted to rock 1930. Serial No. @3544.

prises a hopper or magazine 2 for holding a supply of golf balls, a chute 3 for guiding the balls away from thelower end of the hopper, a gate 4 for controlling the escape of the balls from the delivery end of the chute,

a guide or tee 5 for guiding the balls into position to be driven and supporting them' in saidposition, and coin controlled mechanisms 6 for preventing the discharge of the balls from the hopper except upon deposit of thev 60 required fee. A detailed description of the several elements of the apparatus will, be taken up in substantially the order in which they have just been mentioned- I Y Re'ferringfirst to Figs. 1, 4;, 5 and 6 itwill a be seen that the hopper 2 is divided by partitions 6 into a series of compartments 7 each adapted to hold a series of. golf balls; The hopper is supported in an approximately upright position by two rods 88 driveninto the ground, the hopper having perforated ears .9 projecting rearwardly therefrom. and sliding on the rods 8. The upper pair ofears rests on nuts 10, Fig. 5, threaded on the upper ends of the rods 8 8.' At its lower end the .75 hopper 1s tapered, as shown at 12, Flg. 4;, and

spective partitions 6 and hang loosely in the J tapered section 12 of the hopper. .These flaps arereadily deflected to oneside. or the other ,by; thetravel of the balls past them into the spout 13, but, they prevent the crowding of the balls into the tapered part of the hopper where they would jam.

V connects the spout 13 with the inclinedchute 3 and conducts the ballinto the latter. I Near the discharge end of the chute the entire line of balls is stopped by the gate 4:, Figs; 2 and in bearings carried by the chute, and th'elrock' shaft is provided at one side of the chute with ,a' bent arm 18, Fig. 1, to which a spring20,

is connected, the spring serving to hold'the gate normally in its tipped position as shown Figs. 2 and 3. In this position a lug or finger 21 extending downwardly from the forward end of the gate engages the foremost ball in the chute and prevents it from rolling out of the chute. -By tipping the gate in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3, the finger 21 may which the stud 23 projects. The knob 24 is threaded on to the stud so thatit may conveniently be removed to permit the swinging of the cover into an open position affording access to the gate.

A ball released by the gate 4 rolls out of theend of the chute onto the guide or tee '5. This guide or tee is madeof some flexible material, such as rubber, sponge rubber be? 'jmgpreferred. It consists of a strip of fairly thick sponge rubber provided with. a groove 27 in its upper side and also with a stop 28 at the end of saidgroove. The groove may i be enlarged somewhat immediately in front of'said finger to provide a socket 30 for holding a ball in position to bedriven. Thetee is slightly inclined and it performs two func- 'tionsrfirst, to support the ball in driving.

1 position, and second, to guide the ballby gravity into said position. It should be thick enough at the socket 30 to hold the ball at A secured to'thej chute and for this'purpose it is r the desired elevation.

referably the tee or guide 5 is detachably led through a sheet metal guide 31' of rectangular' cross-section, Figs. 1 and 2, and its rearward end portion is clam'pedbetween the chute 3 and a U-shaped bracket 32 which embracesthe lower end of the chute, the legs fof the bracket being notched to'form hooks and being engaged with pins 33 which pro? je'ct rearwardly from the opposite sides of the chute. The arrangement is'su'ch that the end "portion of therubber tee is greatly' combase plate :35.

securely to the pressed, asshown in Fig. 3, an'd is thus held chute. I M I The U-shaped bracket 32 is mounted on posts 34 which are rigidly secured in a metal This plate rests on the 'floor or turf and supports the lower'end of the chute,'a leg 36, Fig. 1, being provided to (support the opposite end of this member. 6f)

Short plates 37 which project upwardly from the'base plate 35 are spaced apart to receive 1 the guide 31 between them, this guide cooperating with theplates to position the tee properly with reference to the discharge end of the chute 3'; Usually it is preferable to cover the forward part of the plate 35 with a sheet of some material more resilient than metal such, for example, as linoleum. Such a linoleum sheet is shown at 38 and it is provided with slots 40 to engage the lugs 37 and hold it properly al'ined with reference to the tee.

In using the apparatus so far described a series of balls is released from the hopper 2, allowed to roll down through the chute 3 and are stopped at the gate 4. The knob 24 is pressed backwardly to release the gate and the foremost ball rolls out of the chute, down the groove 27 into'the socket 30 where it is stopped by the projection 28. The'ball now is in position to be driven. Theplayer stands in front of the apparatus, addresses the ball,

likewise is driven, and these operations are repeated so longas theplayer desires or until the supply of balls is exhausted.

'It should be observed that whenaplayer has once taken his position it is not necessary for him to change it in order to release or tee a ball, the ball being automatically teed by gravity immediately after. being released and suchrelease being effected simply by. pushing against the gate operating I knob, with the golf club. If the player. should strike the end of the tee 5 with his club in attempting to drive the ball, the tee would 'simp'lybe deflected bythe blow and would return automatically to its proper position agaln due to its inherent resiliency. It is so light in weight that there is no danger of the club beingbroken by its impact with the tee.

In usingfan apparatus of this character on a driving field'or in a cage which is operatedfor profit, it is preferable to provide some means for indicatingthe number of balls used by a player. For this purpose the counting device 42, r as a Veeder counter, is secured to the cover Fig. 1, such, forexample,

25 and is connected by a link 43 to the-arm 18 for operating the gate. Preferably an irreversible counter is used so that it is entirely out of the control of the players or the at-- f Since one ball is released at'each tenda'nts'. 7 operation of the gate the number 'ofballs delivered to thetee will be registered on the counter 42'. Such a register "enables an attendant to charge the player for the number of balls which he drives;

When an apparatus of this kind is-used in some locationsit'is desirable toequip it with some kind of a coin controzliled apparatus for H releasing the balls. The

rawings show anarrangement suitable for this purpose, it being 45 which is secured rigidly to thehopper 2, the plate being arranged to slide partly across its respective compartment 7 as shown, for example, in Figs. 6 and 7. In this position it prevents the balls from rolling out of said compartment. This plate is secured rigidly toa slide 46 having a slot 47, Fig. 7, formed partly through it. A plunger 48 equipped with a knob 49 is mounted to slide immediately beside, but independently of, the part 46 and it also has a slot to register with the slot 47. A coin slot 50, Fig. 7, is formed in the cover 51 for the casing 45 in line with the slots in the slide 46 and plunger 48 when these parts are pushed inwardly. Consequently, when a coin of the proper size, as for example a quarter of a dollar, is dropped into the coin slot 50, it falls into the slots in the two slidable members 46 and 48 and mechanically connects them together. Such acoin is indicated in Fig. 9 at 52. If new the plunger 49 is pulled outwardly it will carry the plate 44 with it, thus releasing the entire series of balls resting said plate and allowing them to run out of the hopper. The coin 52 is held in the slots in the parts 46 and 48 by a short partition 53, Figs. 6 and 9, but soon after the withdrawal movement of the slide 46 starts the coin is carried past the end of the partition 53 and it then drops into a coin box 54, the plate 44 in the meantime having moved far enough to release the balls. lVhen the plunger 49 is moved forward again it carries the slide 46 and late 44 forward with it. The slide 46 may be equipped with magnets 55 to prevent the use of slugs made of magnetic metal. Preferably the coin box 54 and cover 51 are hinged to the casing 45 and are both locked in their closed positions, the locks for the two covers and their cooperating coin boxes being indicated at 56 in Fig. 6. The hopper 2 may also be equipped with a cover 57 which may be locked in any suitable manner. In fact, the hopper or magazine may take a great variety of forms.

In the event that a coin controlled mechanism is provided for releasing the balls from the hopper, the counter 42 still is useful in affording a check on the returns made by the attendant. The coin control mechanism,

however, reduces the work of the attendant and enables a single attendant to perform a wider range of duties.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be'understood that the invention may be relationship to said chute.

embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, What I desire to claim as new is: 1

1. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, the combination of a chute for holding a series of golf balls/in position 130'1011 toward one end thereof, a flexible guide at the latter end of said chute for receiving said balls, a part at the end of said guide forpositioning a ball for driving, said guideserving to conduct the balls one at a time by gravity to said driving position, and means'for controlling the delivery of the balls to said guide.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a. chute for holding aseries of golf balls in position to roll toward one end thereof, a flexible guide at the latter end of said chute for receiving said balls, a part at the end of said guide for positioning a ball for driving, said guide serving to conduct the balls one at a time by gravity to said position, and means for de tachabl fastenin said 1116.6 in its 0 erative 3.'In-an apparatus of the"character de scribed, the combination of a chute for hold- 7 ing a series of golf balls in position to roll toward one end thereof, a flexible guide at the latter end of said chute for receiving said balls, a part at the end of said guide for posi tioning a ball for driving, said guide serving to conduct the balls one at a time by gravity to said position, and a gate near the discharge end of said chute arranged to be operated by the player for controlling the delivery of the balls from said chute to said guide."

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a chute for holding a series of golfballs in position to roll toward one end thereof, a-flexible guide at the latter end. of said chute for receiving said balls, 2. part at the end of said guide for positioning aball for driving, said guide serving to conduct the balls one at a time by gravity to saidposition, and'a manually op- 'erable spring controlled gate for controlling the delivery'of the balls from said chute to said guide. 5. In an apparatus of the'charact'er described, the combination of a hopper for holding a supply of golf balls, a tee for supporting a ball in position to be driven,f'connecting means b'etween'said hopper and said tee for guiding said balls by gravity to said position, and means under the control of the player for governing the delivery of said balls to the tee.

-6. In an apparatus ofthechara'cter-described, the combination of a hopper for holding a supply of golf balls, means for supporting said hopper, an inclined chute for conducting balls from said -hopper,means,at

the end of said. chute. for receivingthe balls "130 one at a time and automatically positioning each ball by gravity in position for driving,

and a gate under the control of the player for governing the delivery of balls, from'said chute to said means. I

7. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, the combination of a hopper having a plurality of compartments each adapted to hold a supply of golf balls, an inclined chute for conducting balls from said hopper, means at the end of said chute for receiv- "ingthe balls one at a time and gulding each ball by gravity. into position for driving, means for controlling the passage of the balls from said chute to said position, and coin conenand a groove for guiding a ball to said socket.

14. In a golf teeing deivce, a flexible resilient member anchored at one end and extending laterally over the surface of the ground,

the upper face of said member being fashioned to form a runway for the ball, a stop at the outer end of said member for arresting movement of the ball, means extending upward to a convenient height for receiving a plurality o f balls and constituting a magazine for holding the same, said means being adapted to feed the balls to the anchored end of said flexible member, and atrip for successively releasing single balls.

15. In an apparatus of the characterdescribed, the combination of a hopper for portinga ball in position to be driven, means for gulding' the balls to cause them to roll by gravity from sald hopper to said position, and

means under the control ofthe player for 9 holding a supply of golf balls, atee for supgoverning the delivery of said balls to said tee.

CLYDE CURTIS SIENCER.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a tee having a part forsupporting a ball incposition to be driven and a flexible rubber guide for conducting a ball to said part.

11. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, a tee comprising a strip of sponge rubber having a socket in one end thereof for holding a ball in position to be driven and provided with a groove for guiding'a ball to said socket and also with a stop to prevent the ball from rolling off the end of the tee.

I scribed, the combination of a chute for holdinga series of golf balls in position .to roll by gravity toward one end thereof, a flexible 12. In an apparatus of the character detee at the latter end of said chute for receivmg said balls one at a time, said tee having a part at the end thereof remote from said chute for holdinga ball in position for driving and being constructed also to guide the balls one at a time to said position, means for controlling-the delivery of the balls to said drivingposition, and means for detachably fastening said tee in its operative relationship to said chute.

13., In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a chute for 'holding a series of golf balls in position to roll by j gravity toward oneend thereof, a flexible rubber tee at the latter end of said chute for re ceiving said balls one at a time and guiding each ball into position for driving, means for controlling the delivery of the balls to said drlving position, and means for fastening said chute and said tee together in their cooperative relationship including means for releasably clamping the tee inposition. 

